My 247th review, and it produces a half-decent episode. They gave us something different, but still heavily linked to Voyager herself. Old Mr Broccoli seems to have reverted to type once again, and Dwight Schultz was entirely convincing. It was also good to see Marina Sirtis back as Counsellor Troi. I'm still not quite sure why Barclay's boss completely refused to listen to what turned out to be a very good idea, but I can understand it up to a point. The holographic Voyager was interesting (although I have no idea how Barclay could have found out what the Maquis crew members looked like - they can't all have had files with pictures) as it provided the link between "Hollow Pursuits" and the 'real' ship. Finally, the scene where they finally get through was certainly well-written and very effective. Overall, not bad.

The TNG crossovers of Barclay and Troi are surprisingly welcome, as they do not intrude on the series and actively contribute to it throughout the remainder of their appearances. For the most part the episode is solid and consistent with Reg and Deanna's characters. My only gripe is Barclay actually making contact with Voyager in the first place, the ship had come 30,000 light years since they made contact with Starfleet, so either the writers forgot about this, they didn't care, or Reg had one hell of a lucky guess (which is unfortunately hard to believe). This episode would probably have gotten a 5 if it were placed sometime before "Timeless" but after "Hope and Fear," but oh well.

I really liked this episode for some reason. It was great to see Barclay on screen again, he is such an interesting character, and seeing him going through 'holo-addiction' is always funny. Given the technology, I wouldn't be shocked if more people weren't addicted to it, much like computer games nowadays. Anyway, down to the meat of the episode, Barclay's search for voyager had a note of sincerity and Troi's interactions with him were great. I like the way the Voyager crew were all slightly different, given Starfleet's limited contact with them. The scene at the end when he finally makes contact brought a bit of a tear to my eye.

I'm glad no-one is whining about the inclusion of much-loved TNG characters in Voyager, as they did in Enterprise. Troi and Barclay are wonderful together and they are a very, very welcome addition to Voyager, finally tying this series into the wider Trek universe. Their performances are excellent, it's good to see what is happening in the Alpha Quadrant after the Dominion War and I don't think anyone would complain about Voyager being in regular contact with Starfleet this late into VOY's run. I love the atmosphere, visual effects and music of the later DS9/VOY seasons and I also like to see episodes set on Earth, given that Trek tends to avoid the Federation's capital worlds like the plague. With this episode, the "mythos" of Voyager (such as it is) finally expands and connects into something bigger.